Almost Perfect
by rach2006
Summary: All of the O’Malley’s lives are turned upside down in their stories but once they find love, their lives are seemingly perfect. Well, one of the O’Malleys doesn’t get as lucky.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters portrayed in this story. They belong to Dee Henderson. I think that's good enough, let me know if I need to add more.

All of the O'Malley's lives are turned upside down in their stories but once they find love, their lives are seemingly perfect. Well one of the O'Malleys doesn't get as lucky.

Almost Perfect

Chapter 1

Rachel O'Malley nodded her head as she set down the phone. She was near tears and if her life kept up like this, nearing a breakdown.

_Jesus, it's almost Thanksgiving. Stephen needs to stop running. Let him find You. You are the only thing that can help him right now._

She needed to see Cole. She needed his arms around her. Comfort-he could tell her everything was going to be okay.

At 11:00 Cole Parker usually found himself watching television and getting ready for bed. Tonight he found his girlfriend, Rachel, fighting tears at his door. He could see she had already been crying once, he wanted to stop that from happening again. He quickly led her inside to the couch. "What's wrong, Rae?"

She blinked back tears. "My family is falling apart. No one wants to have Thanksgiving without Stephen. But he has no intention of coming back, and Christmas doesn't look good either."

Cole put a reassuring hand on hers. He knew that Jennifer's death hurt her, and the absence of Stephen only added to the hurt. "Rae, it's okay. Stephen will come home when he's ready. You know that."

"I don't know if my family can wait until he's ready. With Jennifer gone, everyone is afraid. Can we still love each other this much? Is it really worth it, knowing the pain of losing someone? That pain is almost too much. We're already growing apart. Thanksgiving could have at least pulled us together for a while. Without that, or Christmas, I don't know what it will take to get us together. Maybe I should talk to Marcus…I could call him. He'd know what to do….I don't know what to do, Cole."

"Honey, you need to slow down right now. Why do you put this all on yourself?"

"Because it's my job to be there for people, right now I'm failing my family."

He could see how this ate at her, for years all she had was this family, and if she felt like she was losing it, she was losing herself. "No, sweetie, you're not. They still call you when they need someone. They have faith in you and they know you can do your job. And look at them. They're all moving forward, and you helped them. Kate's still stopping bombers, Marcus is balancing protecting judges and Shari wonderfully, and Lisa has helped solve more cases lately than most people do in a lifetime. They are great at their jobs, and without your help, and the rest of the family behind them, they wouldn't be there today."

Rachel knew this was true, but she still felt like a failure. "How do you know they aren't hiding in their jobs?" She knew it wasn't true but somehow she needed to hear it to believe it.

"They aren't. And you know that, Rae. Lisa and Quinn are on the way back from the ranch, and Quinn's retirement is becoming finalized. Jack and Cassie are having a blast planning the wedding, and Stephen is relaxing and taking the vacation he's needed for years."

She felt reassured by his words, but even the mention of Stephen stung. "If he's so happy, why can't he come home?"

Her tears threatened to start again, and all Cole wanted was to stop them, make all the pain go away. "He's not ready. He can't get past the emptiness in the family without Jennifer. He doesn't have anyone to lean on outside the family and Meghan, and until he knows that God can help him, he won't have anyone. But that doesn't mean he's alone." He saw some of the tension leave her face. "Rachel, let me get you something to drink. It will help you relax, what would you like?"

"Do you have some of the tea I bought for you leftover?"

It was horrible. He only kept it in the house so she could drink it when she came over. A smile played at his lips. "Of course I do." He walked toward the kitchen. As he prepared her tea, he relaxed for a moment knowing the discussion wasn't over.

_Lord, help her. She needs You right now to show her what to do. This family needs her and she's in danger of not being able to do her job with the stress she's feeling._

He walked back to the living room and handed her the cup.

"You hate it don't you?"

He almost laughed at the blunt question. "I can't say that it's my favorite. I'm more of a coffee person, myself. But you like it, so I figure it's best to keep it around."

She relaxed and let herself laugh. "Well at least you're thinking of me."

"Always, Rae."

Rachel let the silence turn serious. "What do I do, Cole? This family needs something and I don't know what it is."

"Just talk to Marcus. Tell him everyone needs to get together. He knows that as well as you do. Get back into each other's lives. Give Stephen a welcome home party. It doesn't matter what it is. Just get everyone together."

Rachel tensed. "And what about me?"

Cole took a breath. "Let yourself feel. You've taken everyone else's pain. Now feel your own."

Rachel felt the wall break. Everything came to the surface, and she cried. She was glad that Cole was here with her. To be by herself in this moment would have made it worse.

Cole held Rae close and gently rocked her as she let the pain sink in. When she finally spoke, Cole had to strain to hear her. "Thank you for being with me, through this-through everything."

He gently lifted her face toward his. "I love you, Rachel. I'll be here for everything. Anytime you need me." He kissed her. It was only to soothe her in the moment, but the kiss soon deepened and became more. He leaned into her and she lay back on the couch. He kept kissing her, and Rachel and Cole soon became unaware of anything but each other.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters portrayed in this story. They belong to Dee Henderson. I think that's good enough, let me know if I need to add more.

All of the O'Malley's lives are turned upside down in their stories but once they find love, their lives are seemingly perfect. Well one of the O'Malleys doesn't get as lucky.

Almost Perfect

Chapter 2

Rachel woke up to the sound of her pager. "Lisa! The airport, it completely slipped my mind."

Cole quickly woke up. "What's going on, honey?'

"I promised to pick up Lisa and Quinn at the airport this morning. Lisa was supposed to page me when they were an hour away."

"Rae, slow down. I'll drive you to the airport and pick them up with you. It's only a half hour from here, so you have 15 minutes, and we'll go. Do you need anything else?"

"You don't think Lisa will find it the least bit strange that I made you come with me to the airport when her flight gets in at 6?" Rachel knew that her sister's curiosity would bring about a few questions.

"She won't care, just say that I didn't want you in the airport alone." Cole knew Lisa would appreciate that, as long as it was for her sister's safety.

"I need to shower, do you mind if I use yours?"

"Go ahead. You know where everything is right?" Cole asked the question knowing the answer.

"Cole, I helped you remodel your bathroom, I think I remember." Rachel smiled thinking of the disaster that she was with a hammer. She grabbed her clothes and blushed as the blanket she had wrapped around her left Cole uncovered.

Cole quickly took his clothes and headed to the bedroom.

_Lord, what happened last night-it was amazing, but it shouldn't have happened. I don't know what she thinks of it, but I put her in a bad position, and I take the blame. Forgive me Jesus, I made a mistake. But don't let Rachel hurt over it. She doesn't need anything else right now. _

Rachel showered and let the water relax her. 'He helped so much last night, but somewhere it just got out of control.' She looked at the clock. 'Wow, I better hurry, Lisa will worry if I'm not waiting when she gets off of the plane…this could be a problem, she's going to see right through me. She'll be disappointed in me. No, she won't, not if she doesn't know. I hate lying to family, but this just doesn't need to concern her.'

_Jesus, I don't know how I lost so much self-control last night, but I know it was wrong. Forgive my mistake, and my dishonestly with Lisa, I just don't have a choice._

For a man who was usually good at communication, Cole was having a hard time getting past the small talk with Rachel. "Rae, about last night, I don't know what to say, I'm sorry."

Rachel had correctly predicted this response. "Don't apologize, Cole. Last night it was, well, irresponsible, and not the right thing, but we can't change it. Apologizing doesn't do anything, it doesn't help right now."

Cole knew she was right, but he hadn't done what he should have last night. "Rachel, I'm sorry. That wasn't how it was supposed to be, though. I love you, and I wanted it to be perfect. My living room couch wasn't exactly part of the plan, and I would have liked it to havebeen after we were married."

"Cole, stop."

"I should have stopped last night, Rae. You weren't thinking clearly. That was just an escape from the pain, and I shouldn't have let it happen."

"Don't take all the blame; it wasn't as if I was telling you to stop. We're adults, and even if it was irresponsible, it happened. And it isn't something you just blow past in a relationship. We'll just be more careful and responsible. It won't happen again. That's all we can do about it now. It's that simple.

Cole loved this about her, level-headedness in any situation. Of course, it was also her job, and he knew that was why she was so good at it. "Rachel, I won't let you down."

She smiled. "I'll hold you to that."

"Hey, don't think that because this happened, I think any less of you or us. I wasn't trying to devalue it; we just needed to talk about it."

"I know." Rachel bit her lip as she flipped on the radio.

"What is it? You've still got something left to say."

Rachel turned to him. "It wasn't bad, was it?"

Cole smiled. "Definitely not, Rae, definitely not.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters portrayed in this story. They belong to Dee Henderson. I think that's good enough, let me know if I need to add more.

All of the O'Malley's lives are turned upside down in their stories but once they find love, their lives are seemingly perfect. Well one of the O'Malleys doesn't get as lucky.

Almost Perfect

Chapter 3

Lisa O'Malley Diamond yawned on the plane. Adjusting to a time change was never easy, especially when you "lost" an hour. The fact that her plane left at midnight hurt, too. She looked over at her husband. It never failed to amaze her how comfortable he could get in an airplane seat. 'Rachel and Marcus must be able to sleep this way, too.' Her siblings had to travel all over the country for work, but the fatigue never showed. Not until the job was over anyway. She knew Rachel was an early riser, so she didn't mind pulling her out of bed an hour early for the 6:00 arrival.

Rachel paced while she waited for the plane. Since Kate had been involved with a plane explosion not too long ago, she was nervous when anyone in her family was on a plane.

"Rae, sweetie, sit down. I think they might like that carpet." Cole joked with her, hoping to calm her.

"What if something is wrong?"

"It's not. I can even prove it to you." He smiled at her.

"How?" she questioned him, unnerved by his calmness while she was this stressed.

He pointed to the monitor showing arrivals and departures. "Because the monitor just got changed, they just landed."

"Well that's a relief." Rachel felt slightly foolish at her nervousness, but it was quickly overtaken by the excitement of seeing her sister again. It hadn't been that long, but it felt like forever. "How long do you think she'll be?"

"Probably not too long, Quinn can still just flash a badge." Cole laughed thinking of Quinn having to use a badge. It would never happen, Quinn could charm anyone, and a flight attendant would gladly help him out. He doubted Quinn would ever do such a thing, however, especially not since he'd married Lisa.

Within minutes Lisa and Quinn stepped into the terminal. Rachel spotted them first. "Over here!" She smiled and waved excitedly.

Lisa and Quinn rushed over. Quinn and Cole both looked slightly amused at how happy to see each other the sisters were. They greeted each other with a handshake, and went to get the baggage. They found it best not to spoil the small family reunion.

"Hey sweetie, it seems like it's been forever." Rachel hugged her sister. "How was the vacation?"

"Amazing!" Lisa beamed and she had that gleam in her eye. She was really excited about something. "We got to explore the caves."

Rachel laughed; she knew Lisa was curious by nature, but her reversion to a kid-like nature entertained Rachel.

"I can't believe you got Cole out of bed this early, to come with you. I know he gets up early, but this is a stretch, even for him." Lisa kidded her sister, expecting a joke back. Instead she saw her sister tense. It was slight and most wouldn't notice, but years of trying to figure her out, let her see what most didn't.

"Yeah, I guess that's when I know he loves me. It was a test, and he passed it. Plus, I don't think he really wanted me to go the airport alone. It just seemed like a solution." Rachel answered her sister nervously.

"Hey, what was that about? You seem a little strange. Is everything okay with you two?" Lisa's happiness with Quinn made her want to meddle even more. She wanted to see everyone in her family as happy as she was.

"Oh, everything's great. It's just early, I probably got a little sidetracked, that's all." Rachel hoped Lisa was done with the questions for a while.

"Alright. If you need to talk about anything, just call me. Actually you can just call me anyway." Lisa laughed and accepted her sister's answer suspiciously. There was something she wasn't telling, but she wouldn't push. Rachel was never a good liar; it would come out soon enough.

"Has anything interesting happened while I was away?"

"Not really. Jack and Cassie are getting pretty close to done with the planning for the wedding. And Stephen isn't coming home for Thanksgiving."

"What?" Lisa gasped, surprised by her brother's stubbornness. "I thought he was about ready."

"We all did." Rachel felt like crying again. She tried to change the subject, slightly at least. "But I think we should just have Marcus plan something. We need to get together soon, it' been too long. I feel like we're pulling away from each other."

"I think that's a good idea, he'll get it done." Lisa knew why she admired her younger sister so much; she always could find a logical solution, where she would probably panic. If she had Rae's job, she would be eaten alive by the stress, or the lack of sleep. She still wasn't sure which.

"Meanwhile, do you and Kate want to escape from your husbands for a night? You could come to my place. Cole is there so often, he's starting to change it. It's looking more and more like a guy's apartment everyday. I'll need you two to help me fix it." Rachel laughed, imagining Kate and Lisa actually doing anything to her apartment made her smile. They would make it crazy. She just used it as an excuse.

Lisa laughed with her sister. "I suppose I could get away from Quinn for a night. I've been with no one but him for a week. I'm getting sick of him." She winked at Rachel.

"Yeah, besides, if you come over, I might get to ride in that car of yours."

Lisa faked sadness, "You're only using me for my car?"

"No, that's not it." Rachel paused, "actually, yes, that is it."

Lisa pushed her sister. "Let's go to the car." It felt good to be home.


End file.
